Europe's largest local authority still cannot get auditors to vouch for its books as data problems linger.
Grant Thornton expects Birmingham City Council to receive "disclaimer opinions" for 2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28 due to problems with data.
A report from the auditor said the council's transition to a rebuilt Oracle Fusion-based HR and finance system in August had been successful.
The council picked Oracle Fusion to replace its legacy R/3 SAP system and at first planned to go live in December 2020 for finance and procurement, and in February 2021 for HR and payroll.
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Summarized version
A report from the auditor said the council's transition to a rebuilt Oracle Fusion-based HR and finance system in August had been successful.
The report’s most important sentence, shortened and in plain words. How
Headline check
Headline as published: City council may be waking from its Oracle nightmare but the accounting hangover continues
The one thing this headline claims is in the report.
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The article, shortened and in plain language
Europe's largest local authority still cannot get auditors to vouch for its books as data problems linger.
Europe's largest local authority will go at least one more financial year without auditors being able to vouch for its accounts despite reimplementing Oracle Fusion.
Grant Thornton expects Birmingham City Council to receive "disclaimer opinions" for 2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28 due to problems with data. A disclaimer opinion means the auditor cannot get enough evidence to express an opinion on the financial statements.
A report from the auditor said the council's transition to a rebuilt Oracle Fusion-based HR and finance system in August had been successful.
The first implementation of Oracle Fusion left the council unable to reconcile its bank accounts or understand its cash position, and contributed to the crisis that preceded its effective bankruptcy.
The council picked Oracle Fusion to replace its legacy R/3 SAP system and at first planned to go live in December 2020 for finance and procurement, and in February 2021 for HR and payroll.
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